Over 1,100 adopted children returned to child care institutions in last five years
New Delhi: Over 1,100 children adopted across the country have been returned to child care institutions by their adoptive parents in the last five years, according to the nodal adoption body CARA.
Most of the children were returned due to adjustment issues which is seen mainly in case of older children (over 8 years of age), according to a senior Central Adoption Resource Authority official. According to information accessed by PTI through an RTI, the highest number of children were returned in 2014-15.
A total of 387 out of a total of 4,362 adopted children were returned in 2014-15 while in 2015-16 a total of 236 out of a total of 3,677 adopted children were returned by adoptive parents, the RTI data showed.
In 2016-17, a total of 195 out of 3,788 adopted children were returned while in 2017-18 a total of 153 out of a total of 3927 adopted children were returned by adoptive parents, the data showed.
In 2018-19, a total of 133 out of 4027 children were returned by adoptive parents, the data showed. The CARA official said about half of the older children who are adopted are returned by parents due to "adjustment issues"
He stressed on the need to prepare children for child care institutions.
"At child care institutions, children are groomed in a different way. They have to be prepared and counselled to stay and adjust with families," he said.
He further said that in many cases it is seen that children have developed a strong bonding with their caretaker at child care institutions due to which it becomes very difficult for them to leave them and move into a family.
The official said that families also need to be prepared for taking care of the children.
"Even the parents have to be counselled and prepared. The parents think that as soon as they bring a child they would put him in an age specific class and the child should start putting in effort due to which the child feels he was better off there at the CCI with his or her friends and he expresses a desire to come back to the institution," he said.
The official also stressed on the need to build social infrastructure at the ground level.
"Each state is supposed to have state social welfare board but these have become defunct in most of the states, if these infrastructures are energised and put in place then service can be delivered but that is yet to be made operational on ground," he said.
He said CARA, the nodal body of adoption, is conducting a study to look at ways to prevent it.
Among states, the highest number of children were returned in the last five years from Maharashtra at 273 followed by Madhya Pradesh at 92, Odisha at 88, and Karnataka at 60, the data showed.
Dr Nimish G Desai, director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, said this experience can be "very traumatic" for the adopted children.
"Children living at child care institutions already have a rough experience of rejection early in his or her life and this (returning back to CCIs or shelter homes) will only further add to it," he said.
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Will not tolerate bias of Congress anymore: Muslim organisations of Karnataka slam party
Bengaluru: Representatives of leading Muslim organisations, associations and unions from across Karnataka have issued a strong and sharply worded joint statement, declaring that the Muslim community “will no longer tolerate” what they described as the biased attitude of the Congress party towards the community and its leaders.
The statement was issued by a wide group of leaders and organisations, including Maulana Syed Tanveer Hashmi, President, Muslim Muttahida Mahaz, Vijayapura; Abdul Khadeer Saheb, President, Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions, Bidar; Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Nadvi, President, Welfare of Humanity Foundation, Bengaluru; K. S. Mohammed Masood, President, The Muslim Central Committee, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District and former President of the State Minorities Commission; Haji Mohammed Hanif, General Secretary, The Muslim Central Committee, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District; Muhammad Maula, President, Udupi District Muslim Okkuta; Yaseen Malpe, Immediate Past President, Udupi District Muslim Okkuta; Maulana Abdul Raqeeb MJ Nadvi, General Secretary, Majlis E Islah Wa Tanzeem, Bhatkal; Ashraf Ali Basheer, Convenor, Muslim Voice of Karnataka, Hubballi; Dr Abdul Kareem, former President, Karnataka State Minorities Commission, Hubballi; K. Ashraf, President, Dakshina Kannada District Muslim Okkuta; Muhammad Hanif, Secretary, Dakshina Kannada District Muslim Okkuta; Maulana Abdul Azeez Darimi, Leader, Sunni Yuvajana Sangha Karnataka; Haji Abubakar Nejar, District President, Sunni Samyukta Jamaath, Udupi District; Mohammad Rafiq, District President, Karnataka Muslim Jamaath, Udupi District; Rafiuddin Kudroli, President, Uniwef Mangaluru; Kasim Shuaiburrahman Qureshi, President, All India Jamiatul Qureshi, Karnataka; Afzal Mahmood, Secretary, Karnataka Muslim Political Forum, Gulbarga; Jabbar Kalaburagi, President, Karnataka Muslim Unity, Bagalkote; Nisar Ahmed, State Coordinator, Eddelu Karnataka, Mangaluru; Naqwa Yahya Malpe, President, Namma Naada Okkoota, Udupi District; Afsar, President, Karnataka Souharda Okkoota, Mandya; Advocate Abdul Jabbar Gola, Vice President, Joint Action Committee, Gulbarga; Advocate Anshad Palya, State Committee Member, All India Lawyers Association, Karnataka and Leader, Hassan District Muslim Organisations Federation; Haji Suleiman Saheb, President, Thirthahalli Taluk Joint Muslim Federation; and Mujahid Pasha of Al Jamaatul Quraish Trust, Basavakalyan.
The organisations said the united support extended by Muslims in the state was the main reason for the Congress party coming to power. However, they alleged that the party and its government are not treating Muslims with dignity, and that there is growing anguish within the community over being repeatedly insulted by denial of proper representation in political appointments and key positions in the bureaucracy.
Referring to the Davangere by-election and recent developments, the statement said the Congress party appears to have sent a clear message to Muslims: “You are merely a vote bank for us. Your job is only to vote for the Congress party. Positions, status, representation and opportunities in the party are alms that we give. If you question your rights or the injustice done to you, disciplinary action will be taken.”
The organisations said this approach is unacceptable and warned that the community will no longer remain silent. They questioned the party’s disciplinary actions against certain Muslim leaders, asking what action had been taken in similar situations in the past involving others. “Otherwise, a serious question arises as to whether the party’s disciplinary rules are applicable only to one community,” the statement said.
Calling the issue one of dignity, the organisations said it is not just about a few individuals but concerns the entire Muslim community. They criticised the Congress for taking unilateral decisions without consulting religious and social leaders and said such actions cannot be justified as mere political decisions.
The statement also accused the party of portraying Muslims as being wrong for asking for fair representation. It said it is not fair to expect the community to campaign for the party without giving them tickets that should have been given fairly, and then initiate disciplinary action on what were described as trivial grounds. The organisations termed the attitude of “you should have simply obeyed what we said” as highly condemnable.
They also expressed concern over what they described as attempts by the party leadership to pit leaders of the Muslim community against each other. At the same time, the statement criticised certain leaders within the community for choosing to pursue personal interests instead of standing firmly against what it called discriminatory policies.
Drawing a comparison, the organisations said that when leaders from some communities commit even serious mistakes or make direct statements against the party, no action is taken and they are instead rewarded. “But if leaders from a particular community deviate even slightly from the party’s diktat, they are subjected to severe punishment this is not fair, this is not acceptable,” the statement said.
Warning of political consequences, the organisations said such discriminatory behaviour will harm the Congress party in the coming days and could lead to a serious setback. They said Muslims had supported the party to ensure a secular government based on constitutional values and to prevent divisive forces from gaining power. However, treating this support as a weakness and assuming that the community has no alternative would prove “politically very costly” for the party.
The organisations strongly condemned what they termed as mistreatment of the community in the name of political calculation and demanded that such unilateral decisions be stopped. They also called for the present decision to be reconsidered.
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